Eric Rueb

Wednesday

May 27, 2020 at 4:15 PM


Like everyone else, Todd Angilly is ready to go back to work. Just don't call it work.


“I can't even say it's a job,” the national anthem singer for the Boston Bruins said. “I don't think it's ever going to get old because it feels like something new every night.”


The 2019-20 National Hockey League season was the Warwick native's first as the Bruins' regular pregame anthem singer. Angilly had hoped that in [...]

Like everyone else, Todd Angilly is ready to go back to work. Just don't call it work.


“I can't even say it's a job,” the national anthem singer for the Boston Bruins said. “I don't think it's ever going to get old because it feels like something new every night.”


The 2019-20 National Hockey League season was the Warwick native's first as the Bruins' regular pregame anthem singer. Angilly had hoped that in late May, he'd still be performing as part of the team's run toward a Stanley Cup. Instead, he's singing outside of hospitals, doing videos on request and getting ready to perform at his local church once services are allowed to continue.


Angilly has to keep his vocal cords loose, limber and ready to go. Even though COVID-19 pushed pause on his first full season, Angilly knew the NHL was going to come back at some point and he wanted to be prepared. He put in a lot of work to get to this point and, even with the official title, wanted to be as ready as possible to perform, just like the players will be prepared to hit the ice once the season resumes.


“Just when I start to get used to something or it becomes routine, something new happens and it reminds me of how lucky I am to be a part of this,” Angilly said. “That's something I'm never, ever going to forget.”


Angilly's story is well known by Bruins fans and even those who might not religiously follow the black and gold.


By day, he's a parole officer, and at night a bartender at SportsDeck, a sports bar inside TD Garden. Angilly also is a trained opera singer and, in November 2017, put his talents to use subbing in when the Bruins' scheduled anthem singer could not make it to the Garden.


“All of a sudden, there was some Bruins staff in the bar and the bar was packed, as it usually is on a Thursday night,” Angilly said. “One of the staff was yelling that I had to sing, 'we need you to sing.' I looked over at the game clock and it was quarter to seven.”


Angilly, with security in tow and every elevator held open so he could get to the ice in time to sing, performed flawlessly.


“They just put the mic in my hand and pushed me out,” Angilly said. “I walked out and sang the anthem and, at that point, I was just the fill-in, doing one or two games a season.”


That quickly changed. With legendary anthem singer Rene Rancourt having retired following the 2017-18 season, Angilly tried out for the regular gig and was a part of a rotation that competed for the spot in the 2018-2019 season.


Angilly won the job and performed every night as if he were still trying out.


“I wouldn't say it puts pressure on me but now I'm the official singer and it's time to show everybody you deserve this,” Angilly said. “My wife does a good job of keeping me in check.”


Angilly doesn't have to worry about his job security but he does have to wait and see whether he'll have a chance to perform again this season. The NHL rolled out plans to return with a 24-team playoff system in eight cities. Boston isn't one of them.


It doesn't mean Angilly won't be ready. If the Bruins or the NHL call, he'll be more than willing to perform. Angilly looks forward to performing on the ice at TD Garden, the stands packed with excited fans. He's just unsure whether he'll actually be able to do it.


“I'm an emotional guy,” he said. “I'm not so sure I'm going to be able to make it through the song. I hope it doesn't cost me my job.


“Knowing what I've experienced so far in a short amount of time, to be a part of events or things like this ... to be in a building with 17,000 passionate, die-hard Bruins fans, to know what we've gone through, to know what everybody's gone through, that's just going to be a flood of emotions I'm not sure anybody can handle.”